With President Nixon on hand, the Angels got six-hit pitching from Nolan Ryan, who struck out 12, and defeated the Royals, 3-2, before an Anaheim record opening-night crowd of 27,240. Nixon, who was staying at the Western White House at nearby San Clemente, Calif., was the first Chief Executive to attend an opener on the West Coast. However. Maj. David Luna, a Vietnam prisoner of war for six years, threw out the first ball.

Frank Robinson, marking his return to A. L. in the uniform of the Angels, hit the first pitch thrown to him for a homer off Steve Busby in the second inning. Robinson, Billy Valentine and Billy Grabarkewitz, all obtained in the deal with the Dodgers, collected five of Angels' eight hits between them. The Angels added their two other runs in the third on a double by Grabarkewitz, triple by Valentine and single by Vada Pinson. The Royals reached Ryan for their pair in the eighth on RBI singles by Gail Hopkins and Cookie Rojas. [The Sporting News]

California Angels 3, Kansas City Royals 2

Game Played on Friday, April 6, 1973 (Night game) at Anaheim Stadium

Royals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 - 2 6 0 Angels 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 x - 3 8 1 Royals AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Angels AB R H RBI BB SO AVG Patek ss 4 0 2 0 0 2 .500 Grabarkewitz 3b 3 1 1 0 1 1 .333 Rojas 2b 3 0 2 1 1 0 .667 Valentine ss 4 1 2 1 0 0 .500 Otis cf 4 0 0 0 0 3 .000 Pinson rf 4 0 1 1 0 0 .250 Mayberry 1b 3 0 0 0 1 2 .000 Robinson lf 4 1 2 1 0 0 .500 McRae rf 4 0 0 0 0 2 .000 Meoli pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Kirkpatrick dh 3 0 0 0 1 0 .000 Ryan p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Piniella lf 4 1 1 0 0 0 .250 McCraw dh,lf 4 0 1 0 0 1 .250 Schaal 3b 2 0 0 0 1 2 .000 Spencer 1b 2 0 0 0 1 0 .000 May c 2 0 0 0 0 1 .000 Berry cf 2 0 0 0 2 0 .000 Hopkins ph 1 0 1 1 0 0 1.000 Stephenson c 4 0 0 0 0 1 .000 Taylor pr,c 0 1 0 0 0 0 .000 Alomar 2b 4 0 1 0 0 0 .250 Busby p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Dal Canton p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Burgmeier p 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 30 2 6 2 4 12 Totals 31 3 8 3 4 3 Time of Game: 2:13 Attendance: 27,240 Left on Base: Royals 5, Angels 9 DP: Royals 1, Angels 3 Errors: Stephenson Doubles: Patek (1), Grabarkewitz (1) Triples: Valentine (1) Home Runs: Robinson (1) Stolen Bases: Rojas (1), Alomar (1) GIDP: Piniella (1), McRae (1), Berry (1) Hit by Pitch: Spencer (1,by Burgmeier) Royals IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Busby L(0-1) 4.1 7 3 3 1 1 1 20 6.23 Dal Canton 2.2 0 0 0 2 1 0 10 0.00 Burgmeier 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 6 0.00 Totals 8 8 3 3 4 3 1 36 Angels IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP ERA Ryan W(1-0) 9 6 2 2 4 12 0 34 2.00 Totals 9 6 2 2 4 12 0 34 Passed Balls: Stephenson (1) Hit by Pitch: Burgmeier (1) Umpires: HP - Jim Honochick, 1B - Lou DiMuro, 2B - Jim Odom, 3B - Art Frantz ROYALS 1ST: Patek struck out; Rojas walked; Rojas stole second [Rojas to third (error by Stephenson)]; Otis was called out on strikes; Mayberry grounded out (first unassisted); 0 R, 0 H, 1 E, 1 LOB. Royals 0, Angels 0. ANGELS 1ST: Grabarkewitz made an out to first; Valentine grounded out (shortstop to first); Pinson grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Royals 0, Angels 0. ROYALS 2ND: McRae struck out; Kirkpatrick walked; Piniella grounded into a double play (third to second to first) [Kirkpatrick out at second]; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Royals 0, Angels 0. ANGELS 2ND: Robinson homered; McCraw was called out on strikes; Spencer flied out to left; Berry flied out to right; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Royals 0, Angels 1. ROYALS 3RD: Schaal was called out on strikes; May grounded out (second to first); Patek struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Royals 0, Angels 1. ANGELS 3RD: Stephenson grounded out (shortstop to first); Alomar grounded out (shortstop to first); Grabarkewitz doubled to left; Valentine tripled to center [Grabarkewitz scored]; Pinson singled to center [Valentine scored]; Robinson grounded out (shortstop to first); 2 R, 3 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Royals 0, Angels 3. ROYALS 4TH: Rojas singled to center; Otis flied out to left; Mayberry struck out; McRae lined to third; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Royals 0, Angels 3. ANGELS 4TH: McCraw singled to right; Spencer flied out to center; Berry grounded into a double play (second to shortstop to first) [McCraw out at second]; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Royals 0, Angels 3. ROYALS 5TH: Kirkpatrick grounded out (pitcher to first); Piniella flied out to right; Schaal walked; May was called out on strikes; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Royals 0, Angels 3. ANGELS 5TH: Stephenson flied out to right; Alomar singled to center; Alomar stole second; Grabarkewitz walked; Valentine singled to shortstop [Grabarkewitz to second, Alomar to third]; DAL CANTON REPLACED BUSBY (PITCHING); Pinson popped to third in foul territory; Robinson flied out to center; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 3 LOB. Royals 0, Angels 3. ROYALS 6TH: Patek doubled to left; Rojas lined into a double play (left to third) [Patek out at third]; Otis struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Royals 0, Angels 3. ANGELS 6TH: McCraw popped to second; Spencer walked; Berry walked [Spencer to second]; Stephenson flied out to right [Spencer to third]; Alomar grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Royals 0, Angels 3. ROYALS 7TH: Mayberry walked; McRae grounded into a double play (shortstop to second to first) [Mayberry out at second]; Kirkpatrick grounded out (first unassisted); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Royals 0, Angels 3. ANGELS 7TH: Grabarkewitz was called out on strikes; Valentine grounded out (shortstop to first); Pinson flied out to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Royals 0, Angels 3. ROYALS 8TH: Piniella singled to pitcher; Stephenson allowed a passed ball [Piniella to second]; Schaal was called out on strikes; HOPKINS BATTED FOR MAY; Hopkins singled to center [Piniella scored]; TAYLOR RAN FOR HOPKINS; Patek singled to second [Taylor to second]; Rojas singled to left [Patek to second, Taylor scored]; Otis struck out; Mayberry struck out; 2 R, 4 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Royals 2, Angels 3. ANGELS 8TH: TAYLOR STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING C ); BURGMEIER REPLACED DAL CANTON (PITCHING); Robinson singled to left; MEOLI RAN FOR ROBINSON; McCraw popped to pitcher; Spencer was hit by a pitch [Meoli to second]; Berry walked [Meoli to third, Spencer to second]; Stephenson struck out; Alomar grounded out (third to first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 3 LOB. Royals 2, Angels 3. ROYALS 9TH: RYAN REPLACED MEOLI (PITCHING); MCCRAW CHANGED POSITIONS (PLAYING LF); McRae struck out; Kirkpatrick flied out to center; Piniella flied out to right; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Royals 2, Angels 3.

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